TL:DR version;
So, i have a very inexpensive ($50) Burr Brown chipset dac, and i was doing an A/B test directly against a much pricier DAC that uses mathematical formulas and magic to replicate the digital 1’s and 0’s my laptop and streaming services feed it to turn into music. suddenly i started to realize that sometimes i’m perfectly happy and even honestly prefer the sound i get out of the really cheap dac.
Now there is a really good explanation for this and i have to also mix amps and speakers up a bit too, BUT there is truth in what my ears are hearing and i want to learn more and better understand my own equipment. My headphones are allot more forgiving of poorly mastered music playing thru the expensive DAC, not so much my speakers tho. There is an upper end spectrum harshness present in many recordings that is hitting a nasty spot in my ears and i don’t like it. It’s a bit gritty and had me checking 4 sets of speakers for blown or failing tweeters, which is NOT what’s going on.
Anyway, give me some recommendations for Burr Brown chipset DACs under $1K+/-, I want to research them more.
Any help is much appreciated.
Yes, prima luna is always on my radar and i scour the used/sale adds for anything prima luna, especially that tube dac. Eventually it will be mine. In the meantime, i’m annoyed at the piss poor mastering of so much music out there. Like, it’s really bad and now i can hear how bad it is and i’m annoyed by it. I don’t want to go vinyl and analogue, i like digital for it’s ease of use, I just need to be able to swap dac’s easier for many songs. I actually want to downgrade 1 particular system🤣
Thank you for the references, you understand what i think is going on right? This Exogal Dac is good, real good. I think It’s it’s bringing out the flaws in allot of music tracks. None of my other dac’s do this. I don’t hear this much detail in the music, unfortunately with detail also come all the nasty’s. I may be wrong, and i need to re-wire some components and pick a few particularly irritating tracks to use as samples, but i think i’m onto something.
No, nope and no, i’m not gonna play that game, hahaha, I’m as high tier as i’m going, i’ve been neglecting my other hobbies the past year. i just need to find the synergy between the different pieces i have and enjoy them for a while. I can make this work, i wanted to research some items tho in the meantime
Yep, that’s the one mine copies, humorously enough It sounds real good, solid value. I actually like it, that’s why i wanted some more recommendations.
The BluDento Bluetooth devices also have BurrBrown chips in them. Once I realized that I activated the DAC on mine and was surprised to hear just how good it sounds.
I pair allot of my budget pieces with klipsch speakers. One of the reasons I like Klipsch speakers so much is that they are very forgiving, in my eyes and my opinion, and play allot of poor quality source material well enough to really enjoy it. This is a subjective opinion and speaks to my efforts to get value out of my investments, YMMV.
hahaha, I’m as high tier as i’m going, i’ve been neglecting my other hobbies the past year. i just need to find the synergy between the different pieces i have and enjoy them for a while. I can make this work, i wanted to research some items tho in the meantime 
